Meaning: Possessing the essence of the essence, the very soul of something.

Notes: This Good Word comes from the noun, quintessence "the most essential part". Although rather long, spelling this word is straightforward: simply add quint to essential and remember that it refers to the essential heart of the essence of anything, the most critical, defining quality of all such qualities.

In Play: The most common use of this extraordinarily beautiful English word is to identify the perfect example of something, "Itzhak Perlman is the quintessential violinist." A word this beautiful finds applications everywhere: "Anna Mallory is such the quintessential animal lover she won't even wear Naugahyde™ jackets because she doesn't want the naugas to suffer."

Word History: Today's word is a compound based on Medieval Latin quinta "fifth" + essentia "essence". The fifth essence in medieval philosophy was the substance of which the heavenly bodies were composed. It was also supposed to be present in all things, so that one of the major objectives of alchemy came to be the extraction of the quintessence by distillation. Essence comes from Latin essentia "essence" from essens "being", the probable present participle of the verb esse "to be". The essence of a thing was seen as its core being which, when it came to humans, often referred to the soul.

Q: With all the cruelty in the world, how can you kill those cute little Naugas just for their hydes?A: We don't. Naugas shed their hydes without harm to themselves, making Naugahyde the Cruelty-Free Fabric. For more information and pictures about Naugas, their history and their habits, read the Nauga Story

For those unfamiliar with these fearsome-looking creatures, have a look at the Nauga history.

Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them." -- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee